


Cleansing

by megzeman



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25683766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megzeman/pseuds/megzeman
Summary: Hermione's first moments of privacy after the Battle of Hogwarts.***I used the "graphic depictions of violence" tag in case people don't want to read any violence at all, but this story only includes Hermione remembering the events of the Battle. It is no more graphic than canon.





	Cleansing

Hermione peeled the blood-crusted clothes off of her body. As each item of clothing hit the floor, a small puff of dust flew into the air. She made her way over to the showers, and noticed several things in the loud silence. 

The first was that the quiet unnerved her. The last time it was this quiet was in the spaces between Voldemort’s words. When she was forced into silence and she thought Harry was dead. She started to breathe louder just to fill the silence and push those thoughts from her mind. 

The second was how inappropriate the gleaming white marble of the bathroom seemed. Seeing something so clean, pure, and untouched made her angry. Everything that mattered was broken and smoldering, and yet the girl’s bathroom, so unnecessarily ornate, was untouched. It wasn’t fair. The shock of the cold marble on her feet reminded her of Dumbledore’s white tomb. There would be so many more funerals soon. She pressed her nails into her palms and tried to empty those thoughts from her head as well. 

The small pricks of pain in her hands brought her attention to the rest of the pain in her body. She began to feel a dull throb from her neck down to her shoulder. The small of her back was stiff and tight. Her left leg was tender and she knew if she looked down, she would see a deep purple bruise growing there. She reached out to turn the tap and found that raising her arm above her waist made her breath catch in her throat. She stepped gingerly underneath the stream of warm water and wasn’t surprised to feel stinging on her arms, legs, and face. She bowed her head, closed her eyes and continued to breathe deeply through the pain. 

Once the stinging began to subside, she opened her eyes and saw rust brown water swirling down the drain. She snapped her eyes shut and tried to keep her breathing steady as images from the last several hours invaded her mind. Pools of that same rust brown color staining the Grand Staircase. People falling all around her; fighting the instinct to stop and make sure each person was alright. Streaks of light connecting with everything and everyone she loved. Remus and Tonks lying on the floor of the Great Hall with their hands reached out towards one another. Colin Creevey, looking so small next to the slain adults he fought alongside. Brown blood. Purple bruise. White tomb. Harry dead in Hagrid’s arms.

She finally let her pain overtake her. She sunk down, hugged her knees to her chest, and sobbed. She let out an involuntary wail, but the piercing sound echoed loudly in the small shower stall. Her hands flew to her ears to muffle the sound. Suddenly everything was too loud. The sound of the water on the floor. Her quick, shallow breathing. Her pounding heartbeat. 

She uselessly increased the pressure of her hands on her ears and began to rock back and forth. Everything was everywhere and happening all at once and all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut, rock back and forth, and try to pretend like this was all a nightmare and she would wake up soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea in my head for a while and just had to get it out. I hope you're all safe and healthy!


End file.
